Spiritual_Wellness_Holistic_Health_and_the_Practic

Democracy 219
staff rather than the apex of a rigid hierarchy, a team that genuinely collaborates with
pupils and parents in the running of the school, is responsive to their needs and
wants, and attempts to create a sense of common ownership of the school ’ s processes,
policies and decisions. Such schools see themselves as accountable to parents,
to pupils, to local education authorities, and to the local community. Pupils ’ parliaments,
parents ’ councils, and school planning groups that include members of the
local community are just some of the ways in which empowering and democratic
intentions can become reality.
The importance of “ warm relationships ” to learning is also well documented, she
says. Poor relationships between pupils and staff and between teachers and their colleagues
is one of the most commonly cited causes of staff stress, while high levels of
support reduce the likelihood of staff “ burnout. ” Better achievement of outcomes, both
cognitive and affective, are found in classrooms with “ higher levels of cohesiveness ”
and “ less social friction. ” Competencies that underpin our ability to make good relationships
include the capacity for empathy, genuineness, and respect.
The third element for effective schools she defines is “ clarity, ” which is related to
the word transparency , a term frequently referred to in the health promoting school literature.
Clarity involves structure and boundaries, having people know what is
expected of them and what they can expect of others, understanding what their role is,
and what the norms, values, and rules of the organization are. Students can form better
relationships, have higher attainments, enjoy learning, and attend better when there is
clear leadership by teachers and they are certain of what they are doing. Teachers also
perform better when goals are clear. They become better motivated and more effective
in their job performance. Clear, timely feedback to pupils and teachers about their
performance is also important.
The fourth element she describes is “ autonomy ” which she defines as “ self -
determination and control of one ’ s own work and life, thinking for oneself and being
critical and independent, while able to take full responsibility for one ’ s own actions. ”
This, she says, is essential if pupils are to be prepared to become full citizens in the
democracies of the free world. Students need to learn to think for themselves and to
work independently as their age, stage, and personality allows.
Democracy in schools requires each of the four elements in the right proportion.
She explains that too much emphasis on warm and supportive relationships, participation
and individual autonomy without clarity can lead to a laissez - faire environment
in which people have an unrealistic sense of their own personal importance, everyone
competes, no one knows what the rules and boundaries are, and little is achieved or
learned. But an emphasis on clarity alone leads to an authoritarian, inflexible, over -
regimented and autocratic environment, in which people may know the rules but may
not care about following them, and can feel unvalued and alienated. The third way
that achieves the right balance between these extremes has been described as “ democratic.
” It is one in which people feel cared for, part of the organization and able to act
with a degree of personal control, but know too that there are clear boundaries, that